Is IoT the future of Healthcare Application?

Imagine waking up in the morning and asking Alexa- “What is my glucose level”? – Unbelievable, well not really. Technology is at our doorstep. Days are not far away from our personal and home smart devices to integrate with one another and provide a comprehensive health data, statistics and results.

Technology and Healthcare go hand in hand in enhancing physical, mental and emotional well -being of an individual. With the continuous evolvement of technology, and the need for efficient, faster workflow and patient care, the traditional system of health care is slowly being replaced. It is the Internet of things (IOT) with is slowly gathering momentum.

What is IoT?

In simple words, IoT is the network of devices that are connected together via the internet. In today’s era of wireless connectivity, IoT is pretty much omnipresent – Home security systems, appliances, TVs, Entertainment devices, handheld devices, watches – can all be controlled by a click, tap or sound.

So, why the buzz about IoT? It is the functionality, ease, and accessibility that holds a promising future for IoT – remote care, patient engagement, faster diagnosis, telehealth and plethora of healthcare functionalities which will be efficiently managed with the adoption of IoT.

What is the projected growth in IoT Market?

While many industries are adopting IoT, it is the healthcare industry that will see tremendous benefits in integrating with IoT. By 2020, 40% of IoT technology will be health related, more than any other category.

The picture demonstrates a patient with diabetes having an ID card when scanned; it links to a secure cloud that stores their vitals -lab results, medical and prescription histories in an EHR. Physicians and nurses have easy access to this record on a tablet or desktop.

What are the benefits of IoT and Healthcare application integration?

EHR Management – The benefits of EHR (Electronic Health Record) and its rising demand for streamlining workflow, managing and utilizing enormous data for patient care cannot be debated. And now, with the IoT integration, the Internet-connected medical devices will play a critical role in helping maintain a comprehensive, up to date EHR – accomplishing tasks like patient care management, medical records and billing, and tracking prescriptions by analyzing real-time data.

Medication Management – With RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology, tags, and barcodes are inserted in objects and devices, which makes data seamlessly integrated into the EHR.

For example – A patients ID bracelet can be scanned to pull up information on the EHR for a guided workflow regarding drug administration. The barcode on the drug packet can also be scanned to check for patient allergy along with a confirmation on medication intake, with a note auto-created on the patient’s electronic health record including the drug, time, date, and ID of the nurse

Telemedicine – IoT plays a critical role in Patient-Provider interaction in the field of Telehealth. Availability of video and remote diagnostic technologies has led to benefits like device interoperability, and convenience.

The IoT is certainly creating a revolution in the healthcare industry. In the coming years, healthcare professionals will rely heavily on IoT to provide real-time data for consultation, analysis, diagnosis, and treatment.